2S0 BIRDS OF FIELD. FOREST AND PARK 



sprite in black and gray, a fact which I fear he 

 does not fully appreciate. These midgets actu- 

 ally destroy even' year countless numbers of 

 harmful insects, making possible in a great 

 degree the success of the apple crop. 



Last year the trees were loaded. Northern 

 Spy and Ben Davis, Baldwin and Bellflower 

 bent beneath the weight of luscious fruit which 

 clustered amid the dark foliage, with cheeks 

 deep-flushed by the autumn sun. A hard frost 

 in mid-October rendered worthless many barrels 

 of the juicy apples which were left upon the 

 trees, where they hung all winter, hard as rocks 

 in the freezing weather. But, thawed by the 

 spring sun and April rain they fell to earth, and 

 Robin and Red-wing, hungr}' from their long 

 flight, feasted sumptuously on the soft bro\Mi 

 pulp. 



When I first saw large flocks of these birds 

 here in early April I thought they were picking 

 out the seeds, but close inspection convinced me 

 that they were eating the pulp, leaving the seeds 

 untouched. This fact greatly interested a red 

 squirrel who lives here, for their generosity saved 

 him much labor. All he had to do to secure his 

 rations was to follow a squad of these rollicking 

 rovers, picking up the seeds which they rejected. 

 He seemed to fully appreciate the opportunity, 

 for I often found him on duty, a sort of camp- 

 follower to the flock. 



He has a sweet tooth also. One day I saw him 

 in a sugar maple clinging to the under side of a 

 limb, daintily sipping the sap which trickled 

 from a crack in the tender bark caused by last 



